Chapter 549 Once you've eaten it, you can't spit it out.
"Clang clang clang"
"Dinner's ready... Dinner's ready..."
The dockworkers had already stopped working and lined up orderly in front of the kitchen carts. They were eager to eat, as there was plenty of rice soaked in meat broth.
Liao Lei didn't eat at the dock today. He drank all the remaining water in his kettle in one gulp and walked towards his own little house on the side of the dock.
Liao Lei didn't organize the accounts as usual. Instead, he quickly washed his face, locked the door, and left. He had to rush to attend the routine meeting chaired by Qin Mo today.
The generous Qin Mo provided each site supervisor with a tall Arabian horse, complete with a silver-inlaid saddle. Liao Lei, dressed in unremarkable linen work clothes, rode on it, and his demeanor instantly transformed.
Qin Mo, a former car enthusiast, knew that no man could resist cars and horses, and the Arabian horse was the Mercedes-Benz C-Class of the world.
Liao Lei rode away on his horse, leaving the Ministry of Works officials who had come to chat with him waiting. They had no choice but to report to Minister Xia Li: "Sir, he's gone. We missed him!"
"Sigh, forget it. It's probably not that easy to win someone over. It seems we've run into a snag with Lord Zhang these past few days. We'll have to find a chance to test the waters later. Don't be too hasty. It has to be a mutual agreement. Never use coercion or bribery. Remember that!"
"Your subordinate has remembered!"
"Understood!"
A group of officials from the Ministry of Works agreed, but they couldn't help feeling a little unconvinced. Was it really worth the effort to recruit a boy who was not even twenty years old?
Liao Lei rode at full speed to the staff camp in the steel plant. This area was reserved for the future office building, far away from the chaotic docks and workshops, and the environment was much better. Qin Mo's temporary camp was set up in the middle of the camp.
"Liao Lei, come over here, I saved you a seat!" His companion saw Liao Lei enter and waved to him.
The dock was quite far from here, and Liao Lei was one of the last to arrive. Qin Mo came out shortly after he sat down.
Everyone stood up and respectfully bowed to Qin Mo, some calling him "Your Highness," some "Teacher," and others "Principal."
"Everyone, let's eat first, and then we'll have our regular meeting in mid-July!"
Qin Mo stretched out his hands and pressed them down, gesturing for the young people, who were not much younger than him, to sit down. He had once been just like them, a struggling junior technician. Now that he was a big shot, he wanted to treat his loyal subordinates better, both psychologically and materially.
Young people eat quickly. After all, apart from Shi Jing and a few other "disciples" of Qin Mo, everyone is still a bit reserved when eating with the big boss, and they are not as relaxed as when they are working.
The dining table was moved to a corner of the hall, a blackboard was pulled out, and dozens of young people dragged chairs around Qin Mo, took out paper and pens, and began to line up to ask their questions and make their requests.
"The students have led a team to complete the in-depth exploration and analysis of the Baixiangshan Iron Mine. Based on the local geological conditions, the students believe that we are now capable of starting large-scale mining, but we need the support of experienced tunneling technicians."
"A professional pit digger? The Luzon copper mine has that kind of talent. I'll have Liu Renyuan select the king of pits!"
"Your Highness, the cement plant I manage has encountered difficulties. The wasteland upstream of Liujia River is now being cultivated, making it impossible to implement the originally selected plan to build a dam across the river. The water-powered grinding machine is not powered. Should we ask Magistrate Qiu to coordinate and allocate those wastelands to us as well?"
"Wasteland? Is there any wasteland near the cement plant?" Qin Mo picked out a construction drawing and examined it carefully. After the cement was sintered, it needed to be ground, and grinding by manpower or animal power was not very suitable.
“Your Highness, the wasteland is located upstream of the Liu Family River. The terrain there is low-lying. If we build a dam across the river, it is very likely that the water level will rise and flood it during the rainy season…”
"Then let's not build a dam. Instead, let's use the latest steam power technology and have the three steam power research institutes submit their design proposals for comparison and bidding!"
The technicians kept raising new questions, and Qin Mo tried to solve them one by one. For those that couldn't be solved immediately, she would write them down and hold a special meeting to discuss whether a major overhaul of the design was necessary.
"Shi Jing, do you have any more questions?"
As the meeting was about to end, Shi Jing hesitated and raised his hand, looking quite conflicted.
"Teacher...I need your advice on some personal matters!"
"Hmm? A private matter... Tell me about it!" Qin Mo suddenly became interested.
“These past few days, many government officials have come to talk to us, and the implication in their words seems to be that they want to recruit us…”
"Poaching talent! That's normal, don't be shy. If they're trying to recruit you, it proves you have extraordinary abilities. But what conditions did they offer? What rank of official position did they promise you?"
"Xu Le, who is in charge of the blast furnace, is a seventh-rank official; Liu Chang, who is in charge of the coking plant, is an eighth-rank official; and Chang Tai, who operates the steam engine, is the highest-ranking official, a sixth-rank official. However, they all spoke very cryptically, as if they were very afraid that Your Highness would turn against them..."
"It's hard to say whether they'll turn on you or not. If they can reach the position of Left or Right Vice Minister in ten years or so, I really won't object. But I'm afraid they'll take advantage of you and then put you on the sidelines. That wouldn't be worth it!" Qin Mo pondered for a moment and expressed his concerns.
"The teacher is right. We are all... 'crash-trained engineering students,' and it's hard for us to get along with civil servants who have studied hard for ten years!"
"Hmm! Sigh... By the way, Shi Jing, what rank of official position did they promise you?"
Qin Mo asked casually, and Shi Jing's face immediately turned red. He lowered his head shyly and remained silent.
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